6 Ways to combat stress

There's no doubting that having stress in our lives can cause our waters to become a little choppy, and discovering the keys to being able to manage stress on a day to day basis can help in

reducing potential harm to our health.
It is known that over time, continued strain on our mind and body from routine stress may contribute to health problems such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, depression and anxiety according to the national institute of mental health, and there is even more evidence that now suggests chronic stress can lead to premature brain aging due to raised cortisol levels.
So what is stress, and how can we combat it?

Stress is a feeling you get when faced with a situation you think you cannot manage.
You can feel anxious, irritable, forgetful, sleepless, and unable to cope.
It is something that can impede upon how you view your world, which means that your focus can become distorted, making it harder to attain and achieve desired lifestyle results.
Stress is a process, not a diagnosis. It is something that isn’t always a bad thing either as some people can thrive on it and even need it to get things done.
The question is, does your stress work for you, or work against you?
There are ways in which stress can be resourceful, and ways it can impede our progress which can  cause anxiety, tiredness, and sometimes depression.

Adopting the right attitude can convert a negative stress into a positive one
​– Hans Selye

It’s inevitable that there is going to be stress in life, but it’s your choice as to how you let it affect you, so here’s a set of stress buster exercises you can start today to have you on your way to a stress free way of living:

1. Develop a regular routine including exercise, sleep, and a nutritious diet. Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise a day, approximately 8 hours of sleep a night, and eat clean nutritious foods, avoiding packaged products that have the hidden nasty’s such as high sugars, salts, and additives which can lead to inflammatory effects and reduce your energy levels.
2. Relax – take the time in your day to relax, reflect, embrace and enjoy your life’s journey can make your day even happier. Activities such as journaling and gratitude can work wonders in reprograming our brains to look for the positives in life.
3. Understand what situations trigger your stress, and what is within your control that you can create change around now, for what’s outside of this you need to let go of…
4. Connect with people – Having a good support network of colleagues, friends, and family can ease your stress knowing you have people you can turn to for help when you need it, or to talking things through can dramatically help reduce stress levels.
5. Challenge yourself – and yes this might sound stressful in itself, that whole thought of stretching yourself out of your comfort zone for one, however by setting yourself some goals whether it be taking on a new sport, or learning new skills as this can build confidence. By continuing to learn you become more emotionally resilient as a person – according to professor Cary Cooper, an occupational health expert at the University of Lancaster. 
6. Work smarter – rather than harder. By prioritizing, and focusing on your most important tasks first whilst your energy is up, and leaving the least important to last can help you dramatically increase your productivity, as well as reduce your stress by actually completing them too lol. Even delegate when you can to increase efficiency.

If your stress persists, then you may need to look at seeking a fully qualified counselor / coach etc to assist you in creating the changes you need in order to move forward. We also offer programs that can help you bust those patterns for good so head to our bio to find out more by clicking the link below…

Here’s to living stress free.
Remember, it's your time, make it count!
Nicole x

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